CHARISM Hosts New American Art Exhibit

By Brianna Brickweg
Contributing Writer

CHARISM instills confidence in young women through art.

The one thing every teenage girl needs is confidence.  And through teaching expression in art, CHARISM is providing young women with just that.

CHARISM will host “The New American Art Exhibit” at ECCE Art Studio on December 14 at 7 PM.  The exhibit is part of the “Faces Project” at CHARISM, which inspires young women to makes healthy life choices.

CHARISM is a non-profit organization in the community that is neighborhood-based in low-income areas. CHARISM has been in Fargo for 16 years and has two sites: one in the McCormick neighborhood east of Big Top Bingo and 25th Street and one in the Stonebridge neighborhood near 35th Avenue South, which has been serving the area for six years.

CHARISM’s main focus are youth programs. The organization provides quality after-school programming, which meets every day and is largely academic-based, where students are paired with a mentor. CHARISM also offers summer programs for elementary students.

“I think what makes our program special is that we have a lot of one-on-one mentoring that happens in all of the programs,” says Sarah Dixon, director of marketing and fund development, “we try to create those relationships so that they [the youths] have a sense of consistency. Trust is being built.”

CHARISM’s South Fargo location includes a room just for youth development, including recreational areas and artwork designed by MSUM students and painted by CHARISM youths. A backdrop painted by CHARISM youths for the annual talent show, held every April, hangs on a wall. Several organizations have also volunteered time to paint the walls in the room with bright colors, giving the area a friendly atmosphere.

Shanda Bultsma has been the youth development director at CHARISM for three years. She feels that what makes CHARISM special is that it is specific to the neighborhoods.

“We really get a chance to build relationships with the families and the kids that live in the neighborhood. We’re seeing a lot of the same kids over and over,” says Bultmsa, “We’ve really gotten to see our programs build quality into their lives because the kids are coming every day after school or have been involved with us for three or four years. I see it as a really neat opportunity to build into their lives long-term.”

One of CHARISM’s missions is building a sense of community in the areas it serves. CHARISM’s site in the McCormick neighborhood is in the center of the area, making transportation easy. “We have about a little over half of our residents and our families that don’t own a vehicle,” says Dixon, “so having a center where there’s central access where they can just walk to it within seconds or minutes is really critical.” CHARISM also hosts events such as sewing and cooking classes for families that are free for those who live in the community.

Another CHARISM project, the Faces Project, revolves around middle school-aged students. The organization goes to schools and teaches kids about making healthy and positive choices as well as how to abstain from harmful behaviors such as drug and alcohol use.

Last year an art component was added where the youths create self portraits. “They kind of go through an exploration process in that piece,” says Bultsma. “We added this art component of building in self-esteem and looking at who you are as a person and what your characteristics are.” The art program meets once a week for five weeks and after completion of the program, the students receive the materials they have been working with.

CHARISM has also hosted classes on poetry and photography where, at the end of the program, a forum is held at an outside location where the work is displayed.

This will be the second year CHARISM has held the Faces Project art exhibit. Nine girls, from grades seven and eight and with diverse cultural backgrounds, will be presenting at the exhibit. Students from Sudan, Liberia, Bosnia, Sierra Leone and other cultures are represented in the exhibit.

Each student will talk about the process they went through with the project and what they’ve discovered about themselves. Janet Flom, the art instructor, will also speak about what it was like to work with the girls.

“It’s going to be a fun night to support what the girls did and what they’ve been learning,” says Bultsma. “We’re hoping that the girls that participate really feel that this is a really unique chance for them, as young artists, to be displayed in the community,” says Bultsma.

The art exhibit is free and open to the public. and the Hotel Donaldson will provide refreshments after the exhibit. Come see the work and progression of a diverse group of young women, hosted by an organization that continues to support youth development and community ties in the area.

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If You Go

What: CHARISM: New American Art Exhibit
Where: ecce art + yoga
When: Tues, Dec 14, 7pm
Info: 701.241.8552, 701.298.3223